Before I go on to share what I am about
to say, I must declare I love reading religious thrillers. With this
declaration, you should be able to understand, why I have an interest
in the below question. The question is this:
“Why are religious thriller novels so
popular in the 21th century?”
Take a look around, there are hundreds
of “Dan Brownish” thrillers on the market. I suppose it could be
fair to say, Dan Brown is the one who started this trend. But when
Angels and Demons, the first Dan Brown novel, was published in
2000, it did not attract the eyes of the public audience. This is
very strange, because I think Angels and Demons is as good as
(if not better than) The Da Vinci Code. However, I observed
his second book, The Da Vinci Code (and the genre of religious
thriller in general), seems to have gained the status of stardom
after the tragic event of 911. Perhaps there is a connection here?
In 1980s and 1990s, thriller novels
like Tom Clancy's books were very popular. Clancy's books were mostly
political thrillers (such as Jack Ryan series), that reflected
the political clime in that era. i.e. the Cold War. It was a time
when the fragile politics between superpowers could trigger a global
crisis at any time, affecting the lives of ordinary people.
But in 2001, it all changed. The world
watched in horror, as terrorism, inspired by religious extremism,
drove two aeroplanes into World Trade Centre in suicidal attacks. All
of the sudden, a new type of danger emerged to threaten the lives of
ordinary people. It is not a threat caused by one nation against
another nation. Instead, it is a threat coming from people (who can
be anyone) who dedicated themselves to intolerant, religious
fanaticism. And this type of threat could arrive at our front doors
at anytime. Today, we are still living under the shadow of such
terrors.
I theorize, the increasing popularity of religious thrillers in the popular culture, somewhat reflects the awakening of
the general public, to the threats associated with religious
fundamentalism. Of course, my theory
could be wrong. Nevertheless, the rise of religious thrillers in the
21th century really is an interesting phenomenon. Don't
you think?
Anyway, I only mentioned the above for
interest's sake. I am not writing an article to analyze the rise of
religious thrillers in the popular culture. Today, however, I would
like to review a religious thriller novel I read recently. This book,
is called Sanctus, written by British author Simon Toyne. This
is a very good novel. Many reviewers have compared this book to Dan
Brown's novels, but I think such a comparison doesn't do justice to
Sanctus. Either way, I hope this long introduction has ignited
in you, some sparks of interest in religious thrillers. Now, without
further delay, allow me to start this review, by providing a synopsis
for this book.
Synopsis:
A conspiracy, three thousands years in
the making, is about to surface and tear the modern world apart. On a
blue, sunny day, a man threw himself to death, leaping off from the
roof of Citadel, an ancient religious fortress located at the city of
Ruin in Turkey. This event was broadcast with extensive media
coverage, the entire world witnessed this suicide. But only a handful
of people could spot the symbolic meaning behind this act.
This tragic event drew together the
lives of Kathyrn Mann and her son, who are charity workers, and Liv
Adamsen, a crime reporter from New York. They began a journey to
revelation, what they are about to uncover will change everything...
What I think about this book:
I think Sanctus
tells a very unique story. I say this for two reasons: Firstly,
unlike most religious/conspiracy thrillers, Sanctus threw a
supernatural twist into the story. Secondly, most novels in this
genre take place at real historical locations, with real religious
organizations. The story in Sanctus, however, took place in a
fictional city, and the story revolves around a fictional, religious
order. This is why, I think Sanctus brought something new to
this genre. Furthermore, by telling a story about a fictional,
religious order instead of a real one, Sanctus prepared a space for readers to enjoy the book, without having to encounter the feeling of discomfort due to their religious affiliations
being mentioned directly in the book.
So what is the theme in Sanctus?
Personally, I believe the main theme in this book, is the origin of
religion. Simon Toyne masterfully clothed this theme with a well
written, fictional story. The pace of the story flows at a
neck-breaking pace, and it is further enhanced by the excellent use
of short chapters. At the same time, this book is suspenseful and
gripping, because an esoteric atmosphere constantly shrouds the
story. As the plot thickened,
readers are bound to become more and more curious at the answer to
the mystery. I particularly like how the author only revealed the
truth behind the mystery, at the end of the book. When I reached the
last 100 pages of this book, I couldn't stop reading it, because I
just had to find out the answer to the final puzzle in the book. When
the answer to the mystery was finally revealed, it blew my mind away,
because it was totally unexpected.
I also consider the characterization in
this book, to be superior to most books in this genre. From protagonists to antagonists, the story
explored every character's view point, with a very good use of POV styled narration. While the
characters in this book can appear one dimensional sometimes, but
they are depicted as characters having their own, individual
personalities. Furthermore, in this book, readers can see how events
in the story impacted the characters. In other words, unlike most
books in this genre where character development is usually lacking,
in Sanctus, the presence of character development can be felt.
The author executed the plot in Sanctus
brilliantly. Details and plot lines meshed together perfectly upon
the arrival at every milestone in the story. There are no plot holes
(I couldn't detect any). The supernatural twist in Sanctus, is
one of the most intriguing features of the story. Throughout the
story, the supernatural element was mostly hinted but not promised.
This method of storytelling created a vision for a story with many
possibilities, motivating the readers to continue and read the next
page. I won't spoil what the supernatural twist is, but let me just
say, from the hind sight, I realized the whole idea of Sanctus
is very well conceived and carefully planned, and the author's depth
of imagination impressed me.
My opinion of Sanctus is
extremely positive, but in this book, the “voice of character”
bothered me a little bit. Let me explain. The story of Sanctus
is supposed to have taken place in Turkey, but I thought in this
book, the Turkish characters spoke like Americans during the
dialogues. I am not sure the reason behind the author's choice of
character voicing. But for me, it reduced the feeling that the story
was taking place in Turkey. Instead, at times, it felt like the story
was happening in America.
I would say Sanctus is one of
the better religious thrillers I've read. It offers a fast-paced,
unique story that gripped its reader with a grand mystery. The climax
of the story will blow your mind away, setting up an introduction to
a promising sequel, titled The Key. In the meantime, I
recommend Sanctus to those who enjoy reading fast-paced,
religious/conspiracy thrillers.
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